To Absent Friends
by Otaku-Jeannie
Summary: Mickey finds information about new dangerous enemy, Riku is stolen in the dead of night and a group of survivors find out that there was more to their friends’ disappearance than they could ever dream. Slash.
1. In the moonlight

To Absent Friends

By: Jeannie

Rating: T

Warnings; violence, slight AU, angst, slash, Oc, and it's kinda a crossover.

Spoilers; Some Avnet Children, FFVII, KH, KH2

Summery; Mickey finds information about a dangerous new enemy, Riku is stolen in the dead of night and a group of survivors find out that there was more to their friends' deaths.

It was yet another hot and balmy night on Destiny Islands and Kari lay in her bed unable to sleep, King Mickey's letter worrying her. Since Sora and Riku had found it, a sense of foreboding had overcome both boys. Sora, naturally, tried to hide it with jokes and goofy faces when anyone was watching, but Kairi could see the troubled look that would cross his face as soon as he thought no one was looking.

Riku, on the other hand, had become withdrawn, almost furtive. This bothered Kairi a lot. Although the darkness had been purged from Riku's heart, she couldn't help but wonder if it would return again. Both Kairi and Sora had asked Riku what had made him chose that path in the first place, but the silver-haired youth wouldn't answer.

With a sigh of frustration, Kairi pounded her fist into the mattress and got up. Sleep was obviously not gong to come to her any time soon and just laying here was driving her crazy. so the redhead reluctantly got up and made her way to the book shelf.

Outside, a flash of silver hair caught Kairi's eye, and she peered out the window. Outside, someone was walking around the bushes of Riku's house wearing a long dark coat. At first, Kairi thought it was her friend but then she got a closer look. The figure's hair was shorter than Riku's and was much coarser looking. Also, unless her friend had had a massive growth spurt in the last five hours it was unlikely that Riku was the one lurking about outside.

When the unknown figure turned around, Kairi instinctively shrunk away from the window. Eerie green eyes that almost seemed to glow swept over where she had stood.

Kairi shrunk back into her room suddenly very afraid, her floral Keyblade appearing in her hand. Despite the power radiating from the weapon, Kairi couldn't help but feel that if the man below were to try to attack she would be in trouble.

The silver-haired man took a few steps towards Kari's house when suddenly the front door to Riku's house opened with a bang. Two men, both dressed black coats with silver hair came running out. The taller one, who had closely cropped silver hair and was carrying a sheet wrapped bundle over one of his shoulders went up to the one Kari had momentarily mistaken for her friend. They exchanged words while the shorter one, with long flowing hair produced a glowing green orb from his coat and aimed it at the open door way. Kairi gasped as suddenly a fire ignited in the house and the longhaired assailant went to join his two companions as they disappeared into the shadows.

For a moment, Kari stood where she was unable to move. Terror raced through Kairi's veins as she wondered if Riku was still in the house and if he'd be able to get out. She franticly looked up and down the street for any sign of

"Mom, Dad!" Kairi shouted as she pounded on door to her parent's room. "Wake up there's a fire next door." She called out desperately renewing the pounding.

* * *

Two figures walked with an almost forced casualness through the streets of Edge. While admittedly there wasn't much crime in this particular neighborhood, the strangers still felt eyes on them. This wasn't too uncommon, for many still recognized the uniform of Shinra's infamous Turks.

"Eh, looks like we're here partner." The lanky redhead said loudly to his bald companion who kept shifting uncomfortably. Reno had a fake plastic grin on his face and his cheerful laughter was forced.

The second Turk simply looked at the sign of the Seventh Heaven with an unreadable expression on his face. "Let's get this over with." Rude said to Reno, his shoulders stiffening as he entered through the doors of the bar.

"Tch, such rudeness, yo!" Reno said half-playfully pouting. "I won't forgive this easily." The redhead said as they made their way through the small crowd of drinkers scattered throughout the bar. A quick scan of the room revealed that the bartender was currently not there.

"Not until I buy the first round, that is." Rude said lightly, leading them to a pair of empty stools at the far end of the bar. Reno let out a laugh, a real one this time. After so many years of being friends, Rude and Reno knew each other completely.

"I wonder how she's going to take it." Rude said glancing at the open doorway behind the bar. Reno let out an exasperated sigh, and shook his head muttering something that sounded a lot like "lovesick fool' under his breath.

"Donno. It's such a pain in the ass, yo." Reno replied bitterly. Running a hand irritably through his unruly crimson bangs.

"It's like fate hates us." Rude commented as he watched Tifa Lockhart emerge from the doorway with an unopened bottle of liquor in one hand and some glasses in another. She placed the bottle and glasses on the bar and began mixing some drinks.

"Nah, it just likes to play with us, yo." Reno answered dismissively, tapping the cardboard coaster impatiently on the counter. Rude saw Tifa glance over to where they sat and surprise flash briefly across her face before giving them a brief nod.

"Why don't you ask her out?" Reno asked in a desperate attempt to change the subject. From behind his sunglasses, Rude glared at his friend. His crush on Tifa had been the subject of a lot of jokes, unsoliced advice and discussion from the redhead. As much as Rude liked Reno, he didn't think that Reno truly knew much about women and what they wanted.

"It's been a while, what do I owe the pleasure?" Tifa asked as she walked up to the two Turks. Both Rude and Reno could hear the hint of suspicion in her voice as well as see the sharpness in her smile. They shared a brief glance before Reno ran a hand through his unruly bangs.

"I wish I could say this was a social call, yo." Reno said breaking the tense silence. "But somehow I doubt you'd want us hanging around." Tifa frowned but didn't say anything.

"I can't talk right now, but if you want to come back after bar time." Tifa suggested as she noticed a customer waiving her over.

"Don't be silly, yo." Reno added playfully "There's nothing else to do around here at this hour. We'll stay here and keep you company." Tifa just rolled her eyes and then went back to serving her customers while Reno and Rude sat back and watched the people in the bar.

"There's another reason for me not to." Rude said once they were alone.

"What are you talking about?" Reno said looking confused.

"You didn't see it?" Rude said gesturing to his hand, more specifically his ring finger. Reno stared dumbly for a minute then his mouth formed an 'o' of surprise.

"Tch, and we have to deliver the bad news that Kadaj is back." Reno muttered darkly. "We're not going to survive this." He added gloomily, Rude nodding in assent.

TBC

A/N: Revision finished, I hope this is better.


	2. Unpleasent Discoveries

To Absent Friends Chapter 2; Unpleasant Findings

Sora was sleeping fitfully in his bed when he heard a tapping on his window. At first he tried to ignore it, dismissing it as a branch from the palm tree in the back or perhaps a very dumb bird. However when the tapping became a distinct banging, Sora had no choice but to rise and see what the commotion was.

Groggily rubbing the sleep from his eyes with a fist, Sora stumbled over to the window to see who had decided it was a good idea to disturb him at this hour

"Kairi, what's wrong are you alright?" Sora asked as a teary-eyed Kairi began to climb into the window. Kairi looked hesitant for a moment then took a deep breath.

"Sora, there's something you need to know." She said, pacing back and forth. Sora took a seat on his bed as he watched her closely.

"What is it?" Sora asked, now confused. It was the crack of dawn and neither him nor Kairi were known to willingly wake up before noon.

"It's Riku, he's missing." Kairi began miserably. Sora jumped up at her words but she held up a hand for silence. Sora pouted but sat down reluctantly. After everything that had happened, fate had decided to crush Sora's hopes of Riku being there when Sora needed him the most.

"I saw some these strange guys at his house last night, but they were so scary I couldn't do anything." Kairi continued trying hard to stop the sobs. She felt so ashamed and helpless that she wasn't able to help her friend.

"It's alright Kairi, we both know you would have done something if you could have." Sora placed a hand reassuringly on Kairi's shoulder. She smiled gratefully whipping away a tear.

"They set fire to Riku's house-"

"Is everyone OK?" Sora interrupted nervously. He didn't know how Riku would take

"I don't know, they can't wake up Riku's folks and you know what light sleepers they are." Kairi said remembering the many stories Sora had told her about his and Riku's sleepovers at that house. "But the really weird thing is they couldn't find a trace of Riku." Sora seemed to collapse in despair as he thought about what she said then something in his mind clicked.

"Those guys you mentioned earlier, do think they took Riku? What did they look like?" Sora asked franticly.

"One of them was carrying something wrapped in a sheet. They were tall, with silver hair, wore long black coats and had eerie green eyes." Sora's eyes went wide with recognition.

"Did one of them have really long hair, have a wing sprouting out of one of his shoulders and carry a sword almost as long as him?" Sora asked remembering Sephiroth. The silver-haired man had once challenged him to a duel in hopes of gaining the Keyblade for himself, but Sora had defeated him. Perhaps Sephiroth had decided Riku might be an easier way for him to gain its power.

"One of them did have long hair but I didn't see a wing or a sword. Another one had hair almost just like Riku's, and there was the big guy with short hair." Kairi answered gesturing with her arms about how big the guy was.

Sora nodded and looked down at the rumpled sheets on his bed wondering if he'd ever see Riku again.

* * *

Traverse town still stood, though when the worlds separated many assumed that it had been destroyed. It was smaller and run down now, as Donald and Goofy found out to their dismay.

"Didn't the king say there was an epi-something going on."? Goofy asked as he scanned the empty streets. Since they have arrived to respond to several distress calls, neither Donald nor Goofy had seen one person.

"Epidemic! But I can't see any sign of it." Donald quacked loudly, irritated at being sent possibly on a wild goose chase. The eerie stillness of the city was getting to him; even a slight sign of life would be welcome.

Goofy was about to ask something else when they heard something, a shuffling from the mouth of a nearby ally. Donald and Goofy exchanged a glance before heading to where the noise was.

A Large Body Heartless was blindly shuffling through the ally. Donald noticed that it didn't look right, its shadowy flesh seemed somewhat drawn and its gait was zombie like. As Donald and Goofy approached the creature, it turned around and fixed its dimly glowing eyes upon the two.

"Ahh." Goofy called out in surprise as the Large Body charged at him, knocking them both into the nearby wall. Donald fired a spell distracting the Heartless before it could crush Goofy, who twirled and knocked it off of its feet. A second spell ended the Heartless' existence.

Donald frowned, Large Bodies weren't that easy to defeat even with him using his Save The Queen and Goofy his Save the King. The duck took a quick look at Goofy and wondered if he understood something was wrong as well.

"So, who do you think sent out that message then?" Goofy asked as they emerged from the ally. Donald shrugged and they continued their search for a sign of life.

Deep in the ally that Donald and Goofy had left behind, a man of about thirty-five years of age lay crumpled in agony. He made no move to contact the strange visitors, half relived they hadn't found him. Everyone in this town had gone mad and he didn't want to be the next one to die.

As he turned his attention to the bruise-like star shaped blotches on his arms, the crunching paper alerted him to the presence of another. The man barely had time to scream as the figure lurched forward, muttering 'reunion' in a toneless voice.

"What was that?" Goofy asked as he heard the blood-curdling scream. Shaking, he turned to Donald who wasn't faring any better. "D-do ya think we should check that out?" He asked nervously.

"Well it is a sign of life." Donald answered, gathering his courage. "We should go check it out. Without another word, both Donald and Goofy went back to the alley.

"Oh no, we're too late." Donald didn't want to look over his shoulder, he didn't want to see Goofy's expression. He could only stare dumbly at the pool of blood and the torn remains of what had once been a human being only a short while ago

* * *

The bar had been closed for nearly an hour and cleanup seldom took over thirty minutes to do, but Tifa was still trying to find something to do. The Turks always brought bad news with them when they visited her. Unfortunately, she knew she was running out of reasonable delays and decided to face them.

"You're probably wondering why we're here, yo?" Reno said leaning casually on the bar as Tifa sat on the stool to Rude's right. Tifa gave him a curt nod.

"Kadaj is back." Rude said grimly, staring into his glass of beer regretfully. Tifa's jaw dropped at his announcement and she spends several moments opening and closing her mouth like a fish out of water.

A-are you sure about this?" Tifa asked clenching her fists to her side unconsciously.

"There have been," Rude began slowly as he watched his crush gasp in horror "several reports. The WTO has confirmed them."

"Where are they, the forgotten capital again?" Rude looked desperately to his partner who nodded and pursed his lips

"Nibelham, but there was a major sighting in Icicle a few days ago. If things get out of hand…" Tifa bristled at Reno's words.

"You'd like the remaining members of Avalanche to clean up your mess, is that it?" She asked angrily.

"We know this might be difficult for you, yo. But, we don't have many options." Reno argued looking slightly desperate.

"Cloud's gone, you know that." She choked out with a silent admission that she'd never have the strength to face any of the clones. Reno felt like scum but didn't know how to make things right.

"Yes, that was the most funerals I've ever had to attend, ever." Reno admitted bitterly. He remembered what had happened the last time Avalanche had fought Sephiroth; hell Reno doubted there was anyone on Gaia that could forget that day, the day when half of Gaia's heroes died.

"But if we don't face this now, there will be more funerals later." The redhead was shocked at the calm voice that suddenly spoke from right behind him. He could see Rude reaching into his shirt jacket for his pistol while Tifa merely let out a sigh and looked over Reno's shoulder.

"How long have you been there Vincent?" She asked with a bitter smile and Vincent moved to her side.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack, yo!" Reno shouted once the shock of the other's sudden appearance has worn off. "We weren't doing anything." He huffed sulkily.

"Long enough." Vincent said absently before taking a seat, watching Rude and Reno closely.

" We first got the information from some of Reeve's men and we're helping them out." Rude added defensively.

"I thought you guys and Reeve kept in touch, yo. Why didn't he let you know?" Reno asked trying to regain some semblance of control.

"Maybe because he knows that we lost in the last battle." Vincent replied sternly, with a glare that said this conversation was over.

Kairi sat on the porch and waited for Sora to come down, the brunette was trying to contact King Mickey. Since Kairi had told Sora about the guys who had been at Riku's house last night, he seemed convinced that their friend was no longer on this world.

It hurt her to see one of her best friends in pain but didn't know what to do. So Kairi decided to come out here where they could have some fresh air while figuring out what to do next.

Sora emerged from his house a short while later, still frowning. Kairi offered him a weak smile as he sat down beside her.

"I couldn't get anyone." Sora said glumly shaking his head in despair.

"Maybe you'll have better luck later." Kairi replied cheerfully.

"Yeah, maybe you're right." Sora said with false cheerfulness. In reality, he was about ready to scream. Who knows why Riku had been taken and for what evil purpose. It had only been a few weeks since the final battle with Xenamas and already the darkness wanted to claim Riku once more.

"Hey Kairi, Sora! What are you doing up and about so early?" Both Kairi and Sora looked up to see Selphie Tilmitt running up to them. She was wearing a goldenrod sleeveless blouse and a short green and yellow plaid skirt with ankle length white socks with weird yellow birds on them and brown loafers.

"Hey Selphie, what you doing?" Sora said once again faking cheerfulness. Selphie looked at him and Kairi for a moment, apparently lost in though.

"Oh no! I didn't ruin a moment between you did I?" Sora was floored by his friend's suggestion. He loved Kairi, but since his return from The Castle That Never Was, the though of being romantic with her just didn't appeal to him.

"Not really," Kairi answered offhandedly, for which Sora was grateful. "We were just talking. So, what did you want to see us about?" Kairi asked knowing that Selphie must have wanted something or she wouldn't have come all the way out to Sora's house.

"Tidus and Wakka have a game today, so I thought you guys and Riku might like to go see them play. Maybe we could pack a lunch and have a picnic, it'd almost be like a double-date." Selphie said dreamily. Kairi couldn't help at smile at her friend's constant romanticism. Selphie had confessed that she harbored a crush on Riku shortly after the silver-haired boy had returned to the islands.

"Riku can't come to the game today." Kairi admitted nervously. "I was just talking to Sora about that."

"Why not?" Selphie asked, slightly crestfallen.

"He disappeared last night, no one knows where he is." Kairi answered, deliberately leaving out both the fire and the mysterious men she'd seen last night.

"You don't think he's going to go away again do you?" Selphie asked horrified. Both Kairi and Sora had to bite their tongues as Selphie voiced their silent fears.

"Don't worry though, I'll find him." Sora piped in with a determined gleam in his eye.

"Yeah let's all go look for him." Selphie piped in jumping up and down in enthusiasm. Sora looked questioningly at Kairi who suddenly looked very thoughtful.

"Selphie, why don't you and I go watch the game. Sora knows better than anyone where Riku's hiding places are." Kairi suggested brightly and to their relief it seemed the brunette girl was going along with the idea. "And Sora has my cell number and will call it as soon as he finds anything." Kairi continued in a tone that told Sora he'd better do as she said or he'd be in big trouble the next time they met.

"Since that's all settled then, I think I'll check the island first. See you guys later and tell Tidus and Wakka that I'm sorry I had to miss the game." Sora called out as he took off towards Riku's house.

TBC

A/N: I'm trying to get to Riku and I'm fairly postive he'll show up next chappie, I'll also explain why his parents can't wake up.


	3. Questions, but no answers

To Absent Friends Chapter 3; Unpleasant Findings.

Disclaimer: Jeannie does not now and will likely never own the characters/situations for either Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy.

Note/italics/ indicates a flashback.

Leon scowled as Yuffie tagged along on his patrol of Radiant Garden. The heartless had dwindled greatly in the past few weeks but Leon was still wary of another attack and he found his early morning patrols a great way to clear his head,

Unfortunately for the gunblader, Yuffie had decided that Leon's patrols were a great way to do some 'bonding' or as Leon thought of it a mix of flirting and nagging. If the ninja wasn't trying to pry into his past (more specifically his love-life) she was telling him he needed to be more sociable, get out and do more than patrol or train, and lighten up. Today's subject seemed to be his conversational skills.

"Ya know, between you and Cloud, it's impossible to have a decent conversation. Unless you guys are spitting out some overblown speech, getting more than two or three words in a row from you is like pulling teeth." Yuffie chattered offhandedly as she walked along the low wall leading from the bailey. Leon just kept looking down at where Ansem's castle still lay half in ruins.

"There are people who talk less than me," Leon added offhandedly as he went to look closer at some odd looking shadows. Fortunately they turned out to be simply a pair of trees that had been planted recently. "Speaking of which, has anyone seen Cloud since is confrontation with Sephiroth?" He asked half out of concern for his ally and half to steer the conversation away from his many faults.

"Aerith has," Yuffie supplied helpfully, leaping onto Leon's back earning a grumpy 'get off' for her troubles. Leon growled and tried to dislodge the girl. "She saw he re-appear in the Dark Depths after it was over. He was really out of it though, kept saying that Sephiroth was in his head and asking questions that made no sense."

"What kind of questions?" Leon asked as he stood still. Hopefully if he was lucky Yuffie would get bored and quit using him as a ride.

"I don't know, Cloud wouldn't let her say any more. You know how he can get." Yuffie said with a hint of annoyance as she slid off of Leon's back. The raven-haired ninja then turned and leaned against the railing of the steps leading down to the borough.

"Say Leon, do you believe in past lives?" Yuffie asked offhandedly as she continued to lean on the railing one leg bent backwards.

"No, why the sudden interest?" Leon asked, used to Yuffie jumping from subject to subject without any apparent reason.

"Because since Spiky came back, I've been having weird dreams and so has Arieth. I think Cid's been having them too but he's too stubborn to admit to any of that 'oggie boogie nonsense' as he calls it." Leon went to join Yuffie in looking down at the narrow streets that led to Merlin's house and their temporary headquarters.

"Well Cid's never been one much for magic and superstition." Leon added as he pushed away from the wall and began walking down the stairs. "He's convinced science can solve everything." Silence greeted his statement and for a moment he wondered if he'd said something wrong to set Yuffie off again.

"Uggh!" Yuffie cried out and Leon turned to see the girl slump over and go completely limp. Alarmed Leon rushed back to her sign and gently laid her on her back. He franticly searched for a pulse, and was relived when he found it.

Knowing something had happened, Leon gathered Yuffie up in his arms and began carrying her to Merlin's house.

As he turned around though, he caught the fleeting glimpse of something silver and black flying from a roof not too far from the marketplace. 'Sephiroth?' Leon wondered with dread as he rushed to Merlin's house.

* * *

// _"There he is." Riku heard a smooth, masculine voice say as he carefully stalked into the room, his Road to the Dawn clutched tightly in his hand ready to swing at any given moment. "You might want to be careful with that thing, we wouldn't want any grave mistakes," The voice taunted and both figures laughed harshly._

_Riku saw to his alarm that his parents were lying on their bed, seemingly oblivious to the two figures the silver-haired youth could make out in the shadows on either side of the bed. Only the rise and fall of his parents' chests told Riku that they still lived._

"_What do you cowards want?" Riku sneered, torn between running in there and trying to slay the two intruders and wanting to retreat in hopes of luring them away from his parents. _

"_Cowards, he dares call us cowards brother." A second voice growled angrily and Riku saw the much larger figure step towards him. In the moonlight, Riku was able to catch a glimpse of silver hair and pale skin until the first figure stepped towards the bed and held his hand up signaling the other to stop._

"_Loz, you are too indelicate and Mother wouldn't appreciate it if we were to damage to him." Riku raised his sword and tensed his legs ready to charge the other who smiled as he produced a glowing green orb from his long dark coat. He saw the pale lips mouth a command and felt a rush of warmth about him. Suddenly, all sense of danger bled from Riku and his body and eyelids felt heavy, far to heavy to resist the sudden pull into the comforting embrace of sleep. The Way to the Dawn fell from Riku's hand and clattered on the floor before disappearing entirely. The floor began to draw ever closer to Riku's face, and only the sudden appearance of the second figure at his side prevented him from hitting the floor. _//

He knew that he wasn't really on the beach, that this was all a dream, but Riku didn't really know what else he could do besides lay there and listen to the waves. In a way he was glad it wasn't the void he'd been in when he first surrendered to neither the darkness nor the abyss beyond Kingdom Hearts.

In it's own way though, this place was even worse than either of them. It had been here that Riku had come back after risking everything to help restore Sora's shattered memories and it had been here that Riku had come torturously close to revealing some rather personal things to his best friend. He often came here to replay what could have been.

"It's useless to think about that." Riku told himself, not for the first time. He had already come to the decision that even if somehow Riku mustered the courage to tell Sora his feelings, there was no guarantee they would be returned. In fact, it was fear of how Sora would react to his little revelation that kept Riku from saying anything.

King Mickey's note had arrived shortly after they had arrived home. He had written that an early skimming of some of Ansem the Wise's notes had revealed some troubling aspects of the Keyblades as well as some other oddities. Mickey had also written that they shouldn't worry about it too much until he could find out more information but at the same time to keep their eyes peeled for any unusual happenings.

It was shortly after the note was found that Riku started to get the feeling he was being watched. At first he thought it was Sora and Kairi, worried that Riku would fall once again into the darkness but as time went by, the silver-haired boy began to realize that something other than his friends was watching him. Riku thought about it a little more closely and now wondered if it had been his abductors.

Riku scowled and ran his fingers through his hair. He didn't' know what those men wanted, where they were going or even if his parents were alright. Part of him wanted someone to show up and help him while part of him wondered if he was worth saving.

* * *

Demyx wished he could glare at the woman who had cheerfully cut off his head but he couldn't. For some reason, flowers weren't equipped to glare at people, even if they did insist on cutting off their heads to make a bouquet that would just wither and die eventually.

So instead Demyx had to content himself with sulking in the soil of the garden he'd found himself in after being defeated by Sora.

Not too far away, Demyx could hear the cheerful humming of the merciless flower butcher as she continued her massacre the flowerbeds. At first Demyx found her voice soothing and wonderful, but now he thought it a cruel trap to lull innocent flowers into a false sense of security. Suddenly the humming stopped and Demyx felt a shadow creep over his now headless stem.

"Cloud?" the voice asked in a worried tone. Demyx was confused, why was she talking about a cloud?

"He's here, Aerith." A male voice rasped out from above Demyx. Suddenly Demyx felt a jolt of pain as something heavy fell over him, cutting off the comforting warmth of the sun. Demyx wished he could pass out from the pain but plants didn't have that ability. So he just lay there while above him the woman shouted 'cloud' over and over again.

* * *

Goofy followed Donald to their ship half confused and half relived that they were getting away from the spooky remains of Traverse Town. Donald had been oddly sedated since their grizzly discovery (and Goofy suspected that he'd purposely disappeared for about twenty minutes afterwards to maintain his pride while emptying the contents of his stomach in some nearby bushes) even as he insisted they return to the ship immediately.

"Do you think the king will be mad we didn't finish our mission?" Goofy asked uncertainly as Donald began imputing flight codes. Donald bristled at Goofy's comment

"There's nobody there!" Donald shrieked angrily. "We looked and looked! There's no way to complete this mission!" With an angry huff, Donald then turned on the communications radio and began to fiddle with the controls.

For about twenty minutes Goofy twiddles his thumbs while Donald became more and more irritated at the controls and was on the verge of beating them with his staff.

"What's wrong Donald?" Goofy asked trying to calm his friend down.

"Dogone machine." Donald muttered darkly at the communications console. "I can't reach the castle."

"Gawsh, that's bad." Goofy thought aloud. They had always been able to contact home before. "Maybe we should try somewhere else for now." Goofy suggested before Donald could smash the radio in rage again.

* * *

"Goodness Cid, have you been on that blasted contraption all night again?" Merlin asked as he took in the site of the gruff blond passed out over is computer. Merlin scowled and went to wake the sleeping man when Cid stirred.

"…the fucking tea Sherra…" Merlin's brows furrowed at the murmured sentence. Cid was often harsh and short but he didn't curse often. As the wizard got closer, Cid remained hunched over the keyboard of his machine occasionally muttering out obscenities, technical stats and mentioned space several times.

"Cid, wake up." Merlin said shaking the mechanic none too gently. Cid didn't stir. Merlin kept shaking him roughly and even tried a small jolt of Thunder magic but still Cid kept asleep. By now, Merlin was puzzled and convinced this was no ordinary sleep.

"Merlin!" Leon shouted as he kicked open the door scaring said wizard. Merlin turned to see a distraught looking Leon carrying a sleeping Yuffie.

"Good heavens, Leon what happened to Yuffie?" Merlin asked stepping away form the unconscious Cid.

"I don't know. She passed out suddenly. Also I saw Sephiroth nearby." Leon said as he carried Yuffie over to Merlin's bed and laid her carefully on it.

"My word, and Cid in such a state too. These can't be isolated incidents. But what world Sephiroth want with them?" Merlin wondered aloud. Leon thought about this for a moment.

"Perhaps because they are friends of Cloud?" Leon offered before going to pull Cid from his seat.

"That could be but you are also a friend of Cloud, why aren't you affected?" Merlin replied sitting down at the table in the center of the circular house.

"I don't know" Leon said wondering where the blond swordsman dwelled when he wasn't sulking around the town. Then he remembered where he'd seen Sephiroth at.

"Aerith!" Merlin exclaimed banging his hand on the table and rising to his feet. Leon looked up in confusion, dropping Cid back onto the keyboard.

"What about her?" Leon asked as he once again tried to get Cid in a more comfortable position. Cid stirred slightly and mumbled something about the planet and a sick kid.

"She's a good friend of Cloud's as well." Merlin explained looking slightly distressed. He had become fond of the honey-haired girl who often brought him flowers and herbs for his potions.

"I'd say she's more than a friend." Leon said remembering the few times he'd seen them together. Seeing them so happy together made him slightly jealous for some reason.

"Not quite yet, there seems to be something that keeps them apart." Merlin replied thoughtfully. "But that's not important now, the thing is she usually pays a visit before now. She might be in trouble." Merlin said in a worried tone.

Leon lay Cid on the floor by Merlin's bed and walked up the pacing wizard.

"I'll go look for her, you stay here incase Yuffie and Cid need protection." Leon said assuringly before rushing out the door. Merlin nodded at the open door and went to shut it.

* * *

Sephiroth had been a little surprised at how crowded Aerith's garden really was. The girl seemed unaware of how many fragments of souls were attracted to her. He could easily count a half dozen as he floated over to Cloud's side. In fact there seemed to be a particularly vocal fragment directly under the spiky-haired blonde. Sephiroth let out a harsh laugh as he listened to the fragment rant about people crushing him after he'd had his head cut off and why didn't he learn to fight better when he was a human.

The former general sneered at the sight of his sleeping rival. He looked barely older than a mere boy, and yet this child had beaten him not once but four times previously. But no matter, Sephiroth had already set into place a plan that was guaranteed to shatter the young man completely. From somewhere behind him, Sephiroth could sense another coming. It was most likely that other swordsman who had befriended Cloud's little group, Sephiroth mused before fading into Cloud's mind. It was time to begin the final phase of his revenge.

* * *

Sora looked at the burned husk of Riku's house in horror. There was almost no trace of the pristine white paint job that had once covered it. Sparkling window were now gaping holes in the blackened walls that swayed ominously in the breeze.

Carefully Sora crossed under the tape warning people to keep out and walking up to where the front door once stood. The hallway looked like a bomb had exploded in it as the wreckage of furniture was strewn towards the back walls and stairways. The floorboard creaked as Sora treaded across them, up to Riku's room.

"Ah" Sora cried out as one of the stairs gave way beneath his foot. Fortunately the next one proved to be a little stronger but only just as it began to give way. Sora quickly ran up the staircase, many of the steps breaking despite his efforts to tread lightly. Once upstairs, Sora headed quickly to his friend's room

Riku's room hadn't been burnt that badly though Sora suspected that the floor was probably not that stable. It looked much more Spartan than Sora remembered it being on previously visits.

There were no posters or decorations that Sora could see, even the maps and pictures of boats that Sora remembered Riku having up were gone. The shelves contained a few books and his desk had a cup full of pens on it but besides that there was nothing in the room. No knickknacks, no radio or cd's scattered about like before just a pair of binoculars and a pair of blank, empty envelopes on the desktop.

Sora wondered if Riku had become even more withdrawn than either he or Kairi had suspected. Despite his best efforts, Riku had fallen into a gloom after their return from the darkness. He often fell back from Kairi and Sora when the three of them went out together and was constantly looking over his shoulder. Kairi often commented on how paranoid Riku had become since they'd come back to the island.

Sora shook his head in dismay; Kari didn't know the worst of it. Riku once told Sora that he could see the looks others gave him when they thought no one was looking, that they could sense the darkness or perhaps somehow knew his role in the darkness overtaking Destiny Islands.

Sora had laughed and said that Riku needed to put the past behind him, but now the brunette was wondering if he should have been a little more careful. Sora walked up to the desk again and looked at the envelopes. They were blank and there was no sign of anything in them, so why did Riku have them out? His eyes darted to the trashcan he knew Riku kept by his desk and saw some torn pieces of paper. Sora pulled them out and saw that Riku had written something, a letter perhaps, and then torn it up.

Before he could re-assemble the paper, however, a sudden and strong gust of wind shook the house ominously and Sora decided it was better if he took this puzzle home to work on.

TBC

A/N: Hope I didn't piss off any Aerith fans, I just had an idea that wouldn't let me be.

Also any suggestions/comments (hell even flames, it's cold outside) are welcome though I pretty have most of the pairings set and am trying to avoid character bashing.


	4. Homecomings and Journeys

To Absent Friends; Chapter 4 Travels and Homecomings

Disclaimer: Jeannie owns nothing, not Kingdom Hearts, not Final Fantasy, not even the comp she types this stuff on. Suing her is a useful as eating soup with chopsticks.

Warnings: violence and a bit of het. What can't a slash story not have the entire male population gay?

* * *

Kadaj began climbing up the long and twisting road that lead from the center of the Northern Crater. With each agonizing step of the difficult climb, he bitterly cursed the youth 'Mother' sent them to retrieve. He didn't understand why she would even need that pathetic boy's power when her own was so strong.

"Kadaj!" Yazoo called out from behind him. He turned around to see his brother help Loz with his burden. "We need to rest." The middle brother said harshly.

"We can rest when we get him to the Heretic." Kadaj shot back angrily he just wanted to be done with this unpleasant task.

"Loz is near exhaustion," Yazoo reasoned, concern for his brother evident in his voice. "If we don't rest soon, he might start fading into the life stream again." He added sternly. Kadaj glared at Yazoo and then Loz.

"Mother will not be pleased with frivolous delays." Kadaj replied harshly stomping over to Loz and taking the sheet wrapped bundle from him. Inwardly he winced at how heavy the boy was but tried to show no sign of it. Loz pouted and was about to cry when Yazoo put his hand comfortingly on his brother's shoulder.

"A few hours shouldn't do any harm." Yazoo argued leading Loz to a nearby cave out of the wind. To his dismay, Loz's right hand was starting to dissolve into life stream.

Kadaj, not wanting to be alone, reluctantly followed his brothers into the cave and set Riku down against the wall furthest from the cave opening. For a moment, his resolve wavered and he was about to apologize when he saw Loz lean his head against Yazoo who wrapped his arm around his brother's shoulders. Loz closed his eyes and fell asleep while Yazoo sat there about to drift off himself.

Kadaj regarded them sadly as he stepped out of the cave in search of anything that could be used for kindling.

* * *

_I'm not a coward, but there is no way to win my fight here. I still have the burses from the last time something like this happened, as do the cowards who tried to gang up on me. Lately I find myself thinking about going away and starting over somewhere else, somewhere where people won't recognize me. Sometimes I can even feel the darkness seeping back into my heart._

_I can't won't go into town alone anymore. Every time I go there things get worse and I am sick of the dirty looks and the way the talk about me. Mom is still trying but the school won't let me enroll. Apparently they have lost my records again, including the test I've taken for the third time. I know that this isn't an accident, despite what they think I am not that stupid._

The letter he'd managed to piece together horrified Sora. As hard as it was to believe, things hadn't settled down for Riku as easily as Sora had hoped. In fact, it seemed just the opposite. Returning home seemed to have destroyed what little peace Riku had made with himself on their journey.

Still, while they gave no clues as to who had burned down Riku's house; the letters did help Sora understand what his friend was going through on the island. And in his mind, Sora prayed that Riku was all right.

* * *

Riku thought for a moment that he heard someone calling his name, but quickly decided it wasn't real as he struggled to wake up. Already he could feel his limbs stirring, obeying his commands but still his eyes refused to open.

Riku could tell that he way laying on the ground somewhere and that it was cold. The roaring of the wind made Riku certain that he was outside. He could hear two people breathing not that far away but Riku decided that to take the risk and continue to try and escape.

With a jolt, Riku's eyes finally snapped open and his arms and legs fully obeyed his commands. He was able to wiggle free of the sheet and took in his surroundings. He was in a cave; the two men from his house were asleep in the corner. The larger Silver-haired man, Loz, cradled the other to his chest and both seemed to be sleeping deeply to Riku's relief.

Taking care not to alert the others to his presence, Riku grabbed the sheet he'd been wrapped in and crept out of the cave. Bitterly cold winds bit at Riku's exposed skin and he wished that he'd worn more than a thin tank top and a pair of boxer shorts as the sheet offered little protection. Still Riku was determined to get away and ran along the path leading upwards and hopefully to safety, unaware of the catlike jade eyes watching him from above.

* * *

King Mickey was sitting at the communications center of Disney Castle looking at the logs worriedly. There had been several hostile communications since he'd sent Donald and Goofy to respond to an urgent S.O.S. in Traverse Town. Unfortunately, the latest broadcasts had tried to take over the computers and Mickey had been forced to cut communications to the outside.

Still, the mouse king was worried about his friends. He honestly didn't know what he would do if Donald or Goofy were hurt or even killed because of his orders. So reluctantly, Mickey reached for the button to open communications to the outside.

"They'll try again if you do that now." A voice called out from behind him. Mickey turned around and leveled his gaze on the tall, regal man behind him.

"I know that but at the same time I can't afford to leave Donald and Goofy alone like this." Mickey argued stubbornly reaching for the controls.

"Unfortunately, old friend, opening the channels now could very well endanger the safety of this castle and all who live in it." Ansem the Wise said coldly. "Just give me a little longer, I will secure the systems so that we may contact your friends, and even Sora should the need arise." Ansem continued assuringly. "I know that your worried about Donald and Goofy, I am too, but there is nothing we can do for them at the moment"

"Alright," Mickey said in a resigned tone, " But you will let me know as soon as you are finished." Ansem nodded and returned to his computer.

* * *

Although it was quiet within Seventh Heaven, peaceful was not a word that could accurately describe the bar this night. Tifa stood by the doorway long after her unexpected guests had departed, a million questions in her head.

Vincent leaned against the wall, silently cursing those incompetent Turks for what they had unknowingly done.

"Did you know about this Vincent?" Tifa asked suddenly, her voice tense with many kept in check emotions. She crossed the room purposely and stood right before Vincent expectantly. Vincent grabbed her hand and interlaced their fingers.

"No," Vincent replied tonelessly, "After all this time, I know better than to do such a thing." Vincent then tensed for a moment as he heard something moving upstairs.

"Vincent?" Tifa asked as his eyes narrowed. She watched the silent gunman turned his gaze towards the stairs. It was times at this that Tifa envied Vincent's enhanced senses.

"Wait here, I don't think it's all that serious." Vincent said before releasing her hand and creeping up the stairs.

* * *

In the living quarters above the Seventh Heaven, a small figure crept from shadow to shadow trying not to be seen. Sensitive ears picked up the sounds of the sleeping children as he crept past their doors. Finally Cait Sith reached the last door and quietly crept inside.

Cait Sith crouched in the corner of the office, trying hard not to bee seen. On the desk, Cait had found Vincent's PHS charging and figured that he was still around, now the problem was getting to him before Tifa or the kids found him. Suddenly the door opened and Vincent strode in his eyes finding Cait immediately in the shadows.

"If it's about Kadaj, Reeve, she already knows. The Turks paid her a visit earlier." Vincent replied sharply. The robot jumped in the air in surprise, leading Vincent to guess that Cait Sith was in mimic mode as the ex-Turk continued to glare at him.

"I was just trying to save her some grief." Reeve said thorough his puppet, his body language defensive. From beyond the door, Vincent could make out Tifa's footfalls. No doubt that she was checking on the children

"But by treating her like she can't even take care of herself, you are hurting Tifa more. She hates being helpless." Vincent countered in a low voice while crossing his arms before his chest. Cait deflated a bit as Vincent rounded on his teammate.

"Don't you remember our last battle with Sephiroth, you were there. You saw what he did to everyone, especially her." Vincent growled remembering that fight. Sephiroth had played with the whole groups minds and hearts after returning to the land of the living once more.

"That's why I was trying to keep this a secret." Reeve hissed back angrily remembering his own experiences. "You were still out when the battle was over, you didn't see the aftermath." Cait Sith's hands flew up to his mouth as soon as those last words had fallen out. The last thing he wanted was to toss about blame. "I apologies, I didn't mean…" Cait began but Vincent shook his head.

"All of us have things we would have done after that incident." Vincent replied coldly. "Unfortunately, fate decreed otherwise, something we all understood."

"Vincent is everything alright?" Tifa called from the hallway. Cait Sith remained frozen, looking as pleadingly at Vincent as his animatronic body was able.

"I was just talking to Reeve. Is there anything you want me to tell him for you?" A smug grin formed on Vincent's lips as Cait Sith waited in tense silence. Tifa walked into the room and flicked on the light. There was a brief flicker of surprise as she noticed Cait Sith standing on the desk, but other than that Tifa showed no emotion

"Come visit us sometime or give us a call, we miss hearing from you." She said with a warm smile before turning to leave. "Please don't stay up too late Vincent." Tifa asked before turning off the light

* * *

Cloud grunted in pain as the flat of Murasame struck his thigh. As the blond staggered back swinging his own sword towards the silver-haired menace. Sephiroth smirked and floated backwards.

"You can't defeat me," Sephiroth sneered while looking down at the injured Cloud. "Because know already that with my end so goes all of your reason for existing. It'd be flattering if you weren't so pathetic." Sephiroth added smugly knocking the sword from Cloud's hands. Cloud braced to the fatal blow.

"And to think you wanted to make _me_ a memory." Cloud looked up to see Sephiroth towering over him. "I've seen your memories Cloud, many times. You cling to them, to the point of having no future or present. Despite all that you cannot live in the past, you memories can no longer save you, not even her." And with that, Sephiroth rose into the heavens to leave Cloud to his scattered thoughts.

* * *

Before his quarry could get even ten feet from the cave, Kadaj leapt down upon the fleeing youth, sending them both sprawling onto the narrow and rocky passage of the northern crater. Before the smaller boy had a chance to get up Kadaj straddled his thighs and sat heavily on his captive's legs.

Icy winds tore at their exposed skin as the boy beneath Kadaj struggled for freedom but Kadaj would have none of that. He twisted his fingers into the other's long hair and pulled his head back painfully.

A stifled cry came from the boy as he tried to lash out against his captor but Kadaj grabbed the offending hand and gave it a crushing squeeze. The resulting cry brought a measure of satisfaction to Kadaj. He then pounded the prisoner's head into the ground a few times.

"Mother wishes to meet you, child." Kadaj sneered into Riku's ear before releasing his hair. "You are being rude, running away so that we have to waste time looking for you to bring you to Mother." Kadaj stood up and unsheathed his sword. With one fluid motion he kicked Riku's shoulder to flip him over.

"I think your rudeness need to be taught a lesson." Kadaj smirked as he brought the blade down on the stunned youth.

TBC;

Yeah I know I'm evil. Please point out any mistakes; I'd love to hear them.

I know some of you are going but isn't DiZ/Ansem the wise dead? Well we never really saw what happened to him so in my universe the machine backlash sent him to Radiant Garden where he hid and contacted Mickey, possibly through Merlin.


End file.
